“A book is a gift you can open again and again,” Says Garrison Keillor, a famous American author, and most children would agree, especially if they can enjoy it on the laps of their parents. Snuggling up, listening to your mom or dad read your favourite tale not only releases feel good hormones; it also helps you to relax, fall asleep easily, and it makes you feel special and loved, creating wonderful memories of a childhood filled with fantasy and adventure.

As the New Year begins we naturally look forward to better times with our family, pledging to make changes to improve our life in some way. Our hopes and dreams for a better future motivates us to optimistically move forward, yet we soon find ourselves succumbing to old unwanted behaviours wondering why it is so difficult to make the changes we desire.

On a recent flight to India I was somewhere over central Australia, about the position of Uluru, the sacred site of Ayres Rock. I was reading the National Speakers Association magazine when, for some reason, I grabbed my pen and started writing all over the magazine. The man dozing next to me work, startled at this incessant scribbling monster that had come to life next to him.